Food of the Seventies, Underwood Deviled Ham

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I remember the commercials with the funny little red-headed kid pitching the ad.If I remember correctly,his name was Mason Reese,or something like that.
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The following are comments left about Underwood Deviled Ham from site visitors such as yourself. They are not spell checked or reviewed for accuracy.

RetroJunkie - September 02, 2007 - Report this comment
Tiny little cans -like cat food cans -with a cream colored paper wrapper around them. Little red devil on the label. Stunk like cheap cat food when you opened them up. They also made a chicken spread.
amy b - October 26, 2007 - Report this comment
yes his name was mason reese-he was cool!so was rodney allen rippey-remember him? they still have the ham and the chicken spread.sometimes i add a can of the ham spread to a container of cream cheese and add almonds and maybe minced onion and form into a cheese ball yumm!
Grew up in the 70s - December 18, 2007 - Report this comment
Retro, Underwood Develed Ham, the name is an oxymoronic (note the oxy), is a heavenly snack. I still love it with mayo on wheat.
Lea - January 30, 2008 - Report this comment
The only good thing about it was the little red devil on the can. Full of pork and chicken by-products. The taste was revolting, and it did smell like cheap cat food -- although cats would refuse to eat it.
RLH - May 31, 2008 - Report this comment
Oh yeah! Mason Reese for Underwood Deviled Ham: "It tastes just like a borgaschmord!"
Neil - June 14, 2008 - Report this comment
I remember pestering my mom to buy this product (based on the 'borgaschmord' commercials. She kept saying she wasn't going to... but finally one day I came home for lunch and there were these never-before-seen sandwiches. One bite and my siblings and I spit it out. We asked her why she was feeding us the cat's food and she told us it was the deviled ham we were pestering her for. We were convinced she was trying to pass off cat food at the product, so she went to the garbage can to dig out the tin. To everyone's horror the tin had no label (as this product was wrapped in paper-not a glued on label.) For years we were convinced that crazy woman fed us cat food.
Connie - June 17, 2008 - Report this comment
Wow I am surprised there are so many who have "cat food" memories of this stuff! Salty and delish, I still love it. My mom used to make double-decker samwiches on white bread with: one layer of Deviled Ham, one layer of American cheese and egg salad. YUM!
Beth - July 03, 2008 - Report this comment
This was a special treat in my house. My mom used to mix it with cream cheese for card club. We loved it. I still do!
Tracy - July 21, 2008 - Report this comment
I'm 41 and I still eat it once in awhile. I love it, always have.
Jeff - September 14, 2008 - Report this comment
I'm 41 also and I will OCCASIONALLY eat this stuff, although it smells awful and has a layer of fat on the top when you open the can. I'm a health fanatic and I don't eat sugar, so I have to splurge once in a while. When I really feel crazy I eat a can of that corned beef hash (Mary Kitchen's). Then I feel sick for the next twelve hours.
RICK - January 03, 2009 - Report this comment
this stuff is pretty nasty, IMO. I mean, c'mon...once you've had a real ham salad (nice Southern specialty) there's no reason to eat this glorified cat food. We had a couple of cans in the cupboard that sat there forever. In a family of nine boys, that's saying something.
TCTina - January 08, 2009 - Report this comment
Wow, kinda weird, but I too am 41 and I still occasionally get a craving for Develed Ham sandwiches, on soft wheat bread cut into little triangles just like when my mom used to send them in my lunch!
Don - April 16, 2009 - Report this comment
Why can't anyone put their hands on this commercial???
Julie - July 08, 2009 - Report this comment
Am I strange that I loved it then and I love it now? I usually have a can or two in my pantry. My dad introduced it to me as a kid. He eats it with Kraft Miracle Whip on a cracker. I use Kraft Mayo, just as yummy!
Lindy - January 22, 2010 - Report this comment
I liked the chicken spread; I never tried the deviled ham.
Youngstown Rick - February 01, 2010 - Report this comment
I remember the other, older commercial. Not Mason Reese. Had a kid running through woods. gets home. He finds a sandwhich sitting waiting for him on the kitchen table. Underwood Deviled Ham. I LOVED the stuff then. Probably because it was so fatty. I literally have a can of the stuff open in front of me right now. You know, it DOES kind of smell and look like cat food... Got it from Dollar general for $1.50. The can of DAK ham water added was only $2.75. Could have bought THAT, ground it up with some pickle and mayo, and would have been better. Oh well, another childhood dream shot to heck. Like Isaly's Chipped Chopped ham, not as good as I remember...
Terrance - May 11, 2010 - Report this comment
Does anyone else remember the Underwood commercial that featured the little cartoon devil that would come alive, leap off of the wrapping and say, "Moms, give your kids the devil. New Underwood Deviled Ham. Give 'em the devil!" At the time I knew nothing about religion, but even at 6 years old there was something about the message in this particular commercial that disturbed me. Comments please...
Heater - May 19, 2010 - Report this comment
Cat food? Oh come on. Underwood Deviled Ham is not that bad. I can't say that I really cared for it when I was a kid. Then again, I was picky little snot-nose. My dad, on the other hand, loved any food in a can. Of course, this is the same man that went thru the Great Depression and survived WWII in the Pacific with the US Marine Corp. If he had food and wasn't being shot at, he was a happy man. I had completely forgotten about UDH until we stumbled upon a can in our cupboard. UDH is far too rich to eat in a large quantity like a sandwich. Now and then I'll have some UDH on crackers with some garnish and maybe a bit of hot sauce. It's pretty darned good stuff. With all the whining health food nuts nowadays, I'm surprised that it's not banned. Terrance, it's "deviled" ham. It's not actually prepared by the devil. Seriously though, there is a saying "give him the devil" which means chew someone out. It does not apply very well but the commercial you're talking about was obviously a play on that saying.
Dawn - October 03, 2010 - Report this comment
Ugh! This stuff was nauseating.
keith - December 22, 2010 - Report this comment
liked it as a child and also as an adult had some yesterday 12/21/2010
Ellen - March 27, 2011 - Report this comment
I used to be so scared of that damn devil staring at me from the cabinet!
Eric - March 27, 2011 - Report this comment
This stuff is great! I had some a few days ago for the first time in many years, and now I'm craving it. I need to get more!
Janet - August 03, 2011 - Report this comment
LOVED deviled ham and the chicken spread, especially in a sandwich with fresh lettuce with salt on it (and mayo) I don't think I'd eat a bite of it now though. My mom sometimes made deviled eggs (of course) with it as well and they were GOOD! But again, my taste has changed drastically so not sure if it would make me gag today.
Janet - September 28, 2011 - Report this comment
I love it, still buy it. Thanks for the commercial memories! : ) My 12 year old was grossed out whenever I begged him to try it, two empty cans later, he gets it! MY MOM took it to the beach with us.
Violet Theviolet - January 09, 2012 - Report this comment
I really liked it when I was little. Wondered a while back if it still existed. Found it, tried it, not as good as I remembered. Seemed very grainy, didn't remember it like that. Then tried the chicken...that was the way I remember it! Then saw the roast beef. Tried that, but it seemed grainy like the ham. I try to keep a few cans of the Deviled Chicken in my car. Great emergency food. High fat and protein.....and I do still like the Deviled Chicken.
crazy amy - May 02, 2012 - Report this comment
i STILL eat it! it is also good mixed with cream cheese (1 can to one brick of cream cheese-or more if u wish)add minced onion,parsley ,slivered almonds and form into a ball-refriderate and you have a KILLER cheese ball! ps roll in nuts or parsley. i love u guys!
Hauntedheadful - June 04, 2012 - Report this comment
I cant explain why I continue to love this infernal substance,I just do.I wish they would bring back the corned beef and roast beef flavors.A tin of this crap with a plastic sleeve of saltines and I'm jammin.
jolly joe - January 26, 2013 - Report this comment
netflix has a show coming out called house of cards about a ruthless politician.in the original british version the politician's name was urquhart.in the netflix version it's underwood. i wonder if they came up with that name because the character(played by kevin spacey,who some say can be a bit of a ham) is quite a devil.
Terri - May 11, 2013 - Report this comment
As a couple people mentioned above, I'm very surprised at the rude comments regarding this product and that resembled "cat food." I grew up eating this, and I LOVE IT! I, too, eat on white bread, however, nothing else. I love the stuff!!! I made my own "home made" Deviled Ham from left-over ham, and it is SUPERB!!!!
ImSoSweezy - June 07, 2015 - Report this comment
Im so glad there's not a picture showing that can! That Devil guy scared the hell outta me when I was little along with the Ro-Tel Tomato guy and Chuck Wagon dog food commercial back in the 70's.
Rob Lambert - June 07, 2015 - Report this comment
The current Underwood devil logo character, used since 1956, seems harmless compared to the pre-1956 on, which looked meaner and more realistic (like a guy in a devil costume). Also, the older devil had no pitchfork, but bore a sneery face and claw-like fingernails. Much scarier! Underwood Deviled ham has been around since 1868. Once family-run, Underwood is now owned by B&G Foods. New products include deviled (like mush) chicken and fish.
Jean - March 31, 2016 - Report this comment
I love it! We used to put in on butter crackers and serve as hor dourves, we also made sandwiches. Sometimes when I get a craving, I get a sleeve of crackers and eat them with a can of deviled ham... I usually feel guilty later!!
Rob Lambert - August 29, 2017 - Report this comment
Found several old Underwood ads, and the comment by Heater (or Heather?) from seven years ago, about the dad who served in WW2, and the deviled ham was among the C or K rations provided. A slogan from the period was, "Wear a Grin, Spread it Thin." About two-thirds of Underwood product output went to the military, the rest was distributed (and rationed) to civilians at home. The deviled ham really became scarce toward 1944 on grocery store shelves, and the shortage continued until mid-1946. Until mid-1945, one or two ration stamps were required, along with the quarter to purchase. One of many sacrifices Americans made at home to win that war.
Lindee - December 30, 2018 - Report this comment
I preferred the Underwood Chicken spread.
Shirley McNeely - October 23, 2020 - Report this comment
I am 78, I remember Underwood Devil Ham seems like forever. I love the ham but not the chicken. I have it as a sandwich or snack on crackers.
toogie - August 11, 2021 - Report this comment
Eating it with crackers as I type, as well as had a sandwich yesterday on white with mustard. Took it on a sandwich to high school everyday for my lunch in the 80's. A lot of people liked it then and still now, my fave is the chicken, deviled ham and also there was a roast beef spread. Happy Eats!!

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